HOT SPRINGS, Arkansas – The Ouachita Baptist University volleyball team earned its first ever Great American Conference Tournament Championship after sweeping the No. 2 seed Harding Bisons 3-0 Saturday afternoon at Bank OZK Arena in the finals of the 2024 GAC Tournament.
Set Scores: 25-23, 25-21, 25-16
Ouachita (22-9, 10-6 GAC) started out trailing second-seeded Harding (22-9, 13-3 GAC) early in the opening set of the 2024 GAC Tournament Championship match. The Tigers woke up and went on a 6-0 tear that tied the set and put Ouachita ahead 8-5. The Bisons closed the gap to one before the Tigers scored four straight to go up by five. Then Harding put together a 6-1 run of its own to go retake the lead 15-14. The Bisons used another small run to go up 19-17. The Tigers again found a spark, this time for seven points in a row to set up set point 24-19. However, Harding wasn't ready to go quietly and closed the gap to within one with the score 24-23. But Ouachita closed it out with a kill and won the first set 25-23.
This time it was the Tigers taking the early lead in set number two of the finals. The Bisons were quick to respond, taking their first lead and pushing it out to four points after a 6-1 run. The two teams started going back and forth trading ties and small leads with Ouachita taking an 18-17 advantage. From there, Ouachita and Harding went point-for-point until the Bisons tied the set 21-21. After that, the Tigers got in a groove and scored four straight points to take the second set 25-21 and go up 2-0 in the championship match.
It was another close start to set three with both sides ending up tied at 4-4, then 5-5, all the way until the Tigers tied it 8-8. Ouachita was able to take a one-point advantage each time after Harding would tie things up. The Bisons last tied it up 12-12 before the Tigers strung together a 7-1 run to take control of the set with the score 19-13. Ouachita pushed its lead out to 22-15 and then recorded three straight kills to close out the set in dominant fashion 25-16 to win the program's first ever Great American Conference Tournament Championship with a 3-0 sweep.
Ouachita is the lowest seeded team in conference history to ever win the GAC Tournament, the first team to beat three higher seeds to win the Championship, and the second team in GAC history to ever beat the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds to win the GAC title.
Courtney Hanson was named the GAC Championship Tournament MVP for racking up 145 assists and 58 digs over the course of the three matches. In the final match, Hanson dished out 41 assists to lead all setters and recorded 18 digs for her 17
th double-double of the season.
Riley Braziel led the offense for the second time this tournament, this time with 13 kills. The Decatur, Texas native also added 10 digs on the afternoon to complete her 14
th double-double of the year. Braziel was named to the 2024 GAC All-Tournament team for her performances in all three matches that included 43 digs and 41 kills.
Avery Jauz was also named to the 2024 GAC All-Tournament team for her efforts over the weekend. The senior led all defenders in the finals with 25 digs and collected a total of 88 digs during the course of the tournament.
Haley Fairchild led the team in blocks with four, followed by
Emily Adams with three.
Kailey Thedford and
Leah Gardner were tied for second on the team in kills with 10 each, with Gardner doing so with a .400 hitting percentage.
Hanson was second on the team in digs with 18, followed by
Kylie Kisgen with 14, and Braziel with 10.
With the championship victory, Ouachita has earned an automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Championship Tournament. The Tigers will find out their opponent and location during the 2024 NCAA Division II Volleyball Selection Show on Monday, November 25 at 6:30 p.m. The Tournament starts with regionals on Thursday, December 5.
